


Cloudburst

by TehAvengeh



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Day 3 Prompt: Rain, Gen, Jearmin Week, Jearmin Week 2015, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-05
Updated: 2015-08-05
Packaged: 2018-04-13 02:09:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,163
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4503807
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TehAvengeh/pseuds/TehAvengeh
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It had started with the rain.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Cloudburst

Armin could remember the moment they met vividly – could remember the sharp sting of the rain as it pelted his bare arms – his shirt already soaked through and clinging to him. It was his first year of university and while he had been slaving away at a paper in the library the clouds had rolled in, bringing with them a downpour of rain and an umbrella thief.  

Of course Armin had read the forecast that morning and had brought an umbrella with him in preparation – since it had been sprinkling when he got to the library he had left it in the umbrella box by the library’s entrance. He hadn’t expected it to be gone when he left. It was a ratty old thing – he’d had it since he was in elementary school so it was small, bright yellow, and hard to open thanks to the rust on the spokes. It wasn’t like it was a big deal – he could just get a new one, he needed a new one really. But Armin had never been the type to replace things that weren’t broken.

Of course he couldn’t just wait around the library, so he clutched his backpack to his chest and made a run for it across campus – stopping under awnings in an attempt to not get soaked through – though he was more concerned about his books then himself.

It had been as he was running across the campus green that he spotted it – a small bright yellow umbrella held above a man who looked ridiculously out of place with such a small thing.

Armin wasn’t sure what came over him in that moment, but before he knew it he was changing directions and charging at the man.

“You thief!” he had yelled, before lunging at the guy who turned around at his sudden yell. The weight of his backpack pulled him forward harder than he had anticipated and next thing Armin knew he was plowing headfirst into the stranger’s stomach – effectively tackling him to the ground – small yellow umbrella falling away to the side.

The thief’s name had been Jean – Armin had somehow managed to give him a bloody nose – and despite the craziness of it all they had fallen in love.

It was a whirlwind romance – it had swept Armin up in a flurry of emotions – and then quickly passed just like that summer rain had the day they first met.

Three months they had dated, leaving Armin with nothing but a broken umbrella, some pictures, and memories that pricked at his skin like the rain.

Though they went to the same school, Armin didn’t see much of Jean after they went their separate ways – he’d seen him at their graduation ceremony, but it had only been from a distance. He wanted to keep in touch – ask him if he was going into the workforce or if he would go to graduate school. But whenever Armin entertained the idea of talking to him his mind went blank and his ears would buzz with the static sound of a tumultuous deluge.

Years later found Armin working in a job he very much enjoyed and though the days seemed to pass by in a haze of somewhat happiness – every time the rain fell Armin was reminded of chilly days spent with a cup of cocoa in his hands and the love of his life at his side.

Three months they had dated – three months in the rainy season – when just like the weather their warm days faded to cold ones. They’d broken up towards the end of November – when teachers were throwing last minute papers and assignments at them before the coming winter break. It was his first year and he had wanted to do perfect – yearned to be perfect – and yet couldn’t be perfect. Their days hadn’t been as exciting as they had been when they first met. Simple yet exciting coffee dates had faded into drawn out moments where Armin was putting all his effort into schoolwork and Jean was putting all his effort into making their relationship work.

It had been Jean who had called things off – had asked to meet Armin for dinner – to talk. When Armin thought back on it he wondered how it was he had had no time at all and yet so much all the same. They ended up meeting during Armin’s lunchbreak. He’d never dated anyone before this so he hadn’t been concerned with Jean’s quiet fidgeting – just impatient – he had originally planned on working during the lunch hour.

“Let’s break up,” he had said it so simply – so determined – how could Armin have refused?

Jean had given reasons – an explanation – but all Armin could remember hearing was the sound of the storm outside reaching a crescendo, and the seemingly increasing tempo of the clock as it clicked closer to the end of the lunch hour.

“Okay.” It had been such a simple end to what had started in a torrent.

* * *

 

Six years it had been now – six years of feeling awful and guilty and pathetic.

It was winter when Armin met Jean again – at that awful time of year when it was too warm to snow but too cold to rain and everything was just covered in a wet, icy mush.

He’d caught a cold earlier in the week and when he left the diner he had stopped at he realized he didn’t very much want to go out into the sleeting drizzle that had started sometime while he was picking up his to-go soup.

A simple navy blue umbrella was resting in the caddy by the door. He figured he’d borrow it long enough to walk to the convenience store to buy his own umbrella and walk back – he needed a new one anyway. The clear one he had bought a few years back was hard to open and he always spent too much time in the rain struggling to open it.

He hadn’t even made it far from the diner when someone came up behind him and a hand was suddenly grabbing his wrist and yanking him backwards.

“You think you can just steal an umbrella like that?” a voice had yelled as he was pulled and when Armin turned to look at his assailant he was surprised to see Jean.

Jean had walked Armin to the convenience store and then they exchanged numbers before they parted ways. He had matured a lot since Armin had last seen him – Armin had matured since then as well.

Things were awkward at first – old classmates – past lovers – reuniting after so long. This time things progressed in a drizzle – slow exchanging of words – talks of understanding and forgiveness. There was no flurry of winds, no monsoon of stop and go emotions. Just a slow careful buildup of what could have been. Warm days filled with that quiet stillness after the rain and that gentle feeling as the clouds gave way to a rainbow.

**Author's Note:**

> I haven't written Jearmin in so long. It was strange how easily the words flowed out. I miss this.


End file.
